1. Field of the Invention
An aspect of this disclosure relates to an optical component production method, an optical component, and an optical panel production method.
2. Description of the Related Art
Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2009-42319, for example, discloses an optical component produced by imprinting and used for optical panels such as a liquid crystal panel and an organic EL panel. In the imprinting, a molding material is sandwiched between a substrate and a mold and is cured (hardened) to transfer an indented pattern on the mold to the molding material and thereby form a patterned indented layer on the substrate. Examples of optical components include a moth-eye antireflection component, a wire-grid polarization component, and a lenticular lens.
As the substrate of an optical component, a glass plate is preferably used because of its flatness, smoothness, and low thermal expansivity.
Here, because of a demand for a thinner optical panel, there is also a demand for a thinner optical component. However, as a glass plate used as a substrate of an optical component becomes thinner, the glass plate becomes more fragile and it becomes more difficult to form a patterned indented layer on the glass plate.